Partners
by Wildnight
Summary: This is a missing scene for 'A Minor Injury'.  Jim takes Blair home to the loft and takes care of his injury.  Thanks to Lyn for the beta.


Partners

Debbie

Jim arrived at the hospital as soon as he could. He wanted to go with Blair in the ambulance, but knew his duty was at the scene. He hoped it wouldn't take very long to finish up. The two officers offered to take the suspects to the station and book them. Jim appreciated the offer and took them up on it.

As Jim walked through the emergency entrance to the hospital, one of the nurses spotted him.

"Right this way, Jim. We've had to hold him here until someone showed up. He wasn't sure you would be here."

"Where else does he expect me to be? Is anything broken?"

"Luckily, no. The doctor said it's just a moderate ankle sprain. He's wrapped it and suggested Blair use crutches for a while since he can't put weight on his foot."

"Yeah, that'll last." Jim chuckled, following the nurse into the examination room.

Blair lay on the bed there, his left foot elevated, an elastic wrap covering the ankle. He had his eyes closed and Jim walked over to stand by the bed. He placed his hand on Blair's shoulder.

Blair opened his eyes, blinking as he focused on Jim. "Hey, Jim. I was about ready to blow this place. I didn't think you'd come."

"Now why would you think such a thing, Chief? Where else would I be?"

"Processing those two suspects and making sure they are charged with assaulting a police officer."

"I told the officers to make sure that was among the charges, along with resisting arrest. They offered to handle the transport and the booking. I'll still have to do my report, but that can wait until I get you home and situated."

"I'm going to be stuck on desk duty for a while, partner."

"That's okay, Chief. The main thing is that nothing's broken and you aren't seriously injured. So, the doctor is letting you go home?"

"Yep. I've signed the discharge papers already. They even gave me a prescription for pain medication and I need to get some crutches also."

"We'll get all that on the way home."

"Thanks for coming for me, Jim."

"Let's get you home and resting."

Blair let Jim get him to his feet and maneuvered out of the hospital. Jim helped Blair into the truck and got him situated.

On the way home, Jim stopped at a pharmacy to get Blair's prescription filled and to rent a pair of crutches. When he came back to the truck, he noticed Blair was asleep.

When he reached the loft, Jim gently shook Blair's shoulder. Blair woke up, blinking in Jim's direction.

"Something wrong, Jim?"

"No, I just thought you'd like to know that we're home and I'm not carrying you up to the third floor. I rented you a pair of crutches. Let's hope the elevator is working."

Jim helped Blair out of the truck, holding onto the crutches until Blair was able to take over. His first few steps were a little hesitant, but then he got the hang of it and was able to move forward without the danger of falling flat on his face. It was slow going, but Jim adjusted to the slower pace.

The maneuver into the elevator, which thankfully was working, was a little trickier. Jim finally steadied Blair and helped him inside, leaning slightly against the wall of the elevator car. Jim could see a fine sheen of sweat on Blair's face from the exertion.

"Not much longer, Chief."

Blair nodded, not even opening his eyes.

Jim helped Blair out of the elevator and down the hall. It took almost fifteen minutes to make the short trek towards the door of the loft.

"I'm sorry I'm so slow."

"It's okay, Chief. You just need to get off your feet and rest."

Once inside the loft, Jim maneuvered Blair over to the couch, sitting him down and elevating his left leg on the table there.

"What about house rule number six - no feet on the furniture?"

"We'll suspend that one for now. I'm going to put together an ice pack to help with the swelling. I'll also get you one of your pain pills and you can rest there."

Jim was off towards the kitchen before Blair could answer him. Blair relaxed on the couch, moving his ankle slightly to assess the pain level and mobility. It hurt a lot.

Soon, Jim was back with a pillow to elevate Blair's ankle even more, a makeshift ice pack, consisting of a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a towel, Blair's pain medication, and a bottle of water.

Blair took the pain pill with the bottled water provided. He wasn't going to argue about the need for the medication. He watched as Jim situated the pillow and the ice pack. Blair was glad he had Jim to help him through this.

Jim sat in the chair opposite Blair. He was content to just sit there and watch as Blair dozed. He'd heard from the officers that the suspects were booked and spending the night in jail. Jim thanked them for handling the actual arrest, transport and booking of the drug runners.

Now that all of the excitement was over, Jim needed to unwind and he found that by watching Blair rest, he was able to achieve that. It felt good not to have to do anything for a while.

After a while, he got up and moved over to sit beside Blair on the couch. He checked the ice pack, discovering that it needed to be changed. Jim grabbed the towel-covered bag of peas and got to his feet, heading towards the kitchen. Blair's voice reached him there.

"Something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Chief. I just need to change the ice pack. Do you want to sleep in your bed tonight?"

"It would be more comfortable than the couch. I'm sure I can hobble in there on my own."

"Just hold off on any movement just yet, Sandburg. I'll be right there to help you."

"I'm a big boy, Jim. In case you haven't noticed."

"I've noticed, Sandburg. But I don't want you taking a header and injuring yourself further."

"You say the nicest things, Jim."

"I just don't want to have to visit you in the hospital."

"I get it, Jim. I'll wait for you."

It was a half an hour later when Jim got Blair situated in bed with his left leg elevated by several additional pillows. First, Blair had to make a stop in the bathroom and then Jim had to check to make sure the elastic wrap was still in place, help Blair strip down to his t-shirt and boxers, get him into bed and place the makeshift ice pack on his ankle. Blair was almost asleep by the time Jim left the bedroom.

He'd have to go in and remove the makeshift ice pack before he went to bed. But he had a little while before he had to do that. He made sure the loft was secure. He went over to stand in the doorway to Blair's bedroom.

Blair was lucky the drug runners hadn't used any weapons. A sprained ankle was preferable over any other serious injuries that could have happened. Sure, Blair was in pain, but he would heal quickly and have no lasting effects. There would be no scar and no permanent reminder of the incident.

Jim walked inside, removed the towel-covered frozen corn, and covered Blair with the blanket lying at the end of the bed.

"Pleasant dreams, Chief," whispered Jim, as he left the bedroom, closing the door behind him.

He walked upstairs to his bedroom, keeping an ear out for his partner. In case, he needed something during the night.


End file.
